{"id":246938,"date":"2020-01-24T10:58:03","date_gmt":"2020-01-24T05:58:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/?p=246938"},"modified":"2020-01-24T10:58:03","modified_gmt":"2020-01-24T05:58:03","slug":"meet-the-worlds-first-hijabi-ballerina-stephanie-kurlow-pictures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/meet-the-worlds-first-hijabi-ballerina-stephanie-kurlow-pictures\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet The World’s First Hijabi Ballerina Stephanie Kurlow [Pictures]"},"content":{"rendered":"

There used to be a time when people, for better or for worse, made assumptions about other people based on what they choose to wear. But thanks to social media, those stereotypes are being challenged. If you told me there was a hijabi ballerina out there, I couldn’t have believed you. But guess what, happy to be proven wrong!<\/p>\n

One Twitter user shared how one really exists, and now people are curious about who this hijabi ballerina is.\u00a0 Her name is Stephanie Kurlow and she asserts being the ‘first hijabi ballerina in the world’.<\/p>\n

This woman is turning tables on stereotypes one pirouette<\/em> at a time. This Russian-Australian ballerina is only a teenager. According to Pointe<\/a> magazine, she was 17 last year.<\/p>\n

\"Stephanie
World’s first ‘hijabi ballerina’ Stephanie Kurlow<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Stephanie<\/p>\n

\"Stephanie<\/p>\n

\"Stephanie
Australian ballerina changing stereotypes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While Stephanie knew she wanted to be a dancer since the age of 2, she did not find her religious identity until 2010 when she converted to Islam.<\/p>\n

That’s when her dancing career was affected because she struggled to find a school that catered to Muslim women.<\/p>\n

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ALSO READ<\/p>\n

Naziyah Mahmood Is Setting An Example for Muslim Women Across the World [Video]<\/a><\/p>\n

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During that rough patch when she wasn’t dancing and almost gave up ballet, she was inspired to push forward by African-American ballerina Misty Copeland, and the first hijabi Emirati weightlifter, Amna Al Haddad.<\/p>\n

That’s when Stephanie Kurlow set up a crowdfunding<\/a> page to help fund her private tuition. She went from struggling to afford the tuition to scoring a scholarship from Swedish sports brand Bj\u00f6rn Borg<\/em>.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BnQ2_2VABRn\/?utm_source=ig_embed<\/p>\n

The Australian resident even served as a muse for designer Tarese Klemens in 2018. Soon enough she grabbed the attention of international brands, such as Converse<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Gaynor Minden<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Loved being a part of this amazing project\u2764\ufe0f@LenovoANZ<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/YrinyOyNTa<\/a><\/p>\n

— Stephanie Kurlow (@stephaniekurlow) March 8, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n